Image forming apparatus and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing home screen display program

ABSTRACT

A Multifunctional Peripheral (MFP) includes a display unit that displays information and a printer that prints an image on a recording medium, and when data printable by the printer exists in a specific location, a preview combination home screen including a preview of an image based on the data is displayed on the display unit.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is based upon, and claims the benefit of priority from,corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-233011 filed in theJapan Patent Office on Dec. 12, 2018, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus thatdisplays a home screen and a non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium that stores a home screen display program.

Description of Related Art

Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus that displays a homescreen, there has been known an image forming apparatus which includesan operation panel that displays information, a scanner that reads animage from a document, and a printer that can print an image such as animage read from the document by the scanner on a recording medium. Whenthe image forming apparatus reads an image from a document with thescanner, the image forming apparatus displays a home screen including apreview of the image read from the document by the scanner on theoperation panel.

SUMMARY

An image forming apparatus of the present disclosure includes a displaydevice that displays information, a printing device that prints an imageon a recording medium, and a home screen display unit that displays ahome screen on the display device, and when data printable by theprinting device exists in a specific location, the home screen displayunit displays on the display device the home screen including a previewof an image based on the data that is printable by the printing deviceand exists in the specific location.

A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of the presentdisclosure stores a home screen display program executed by an imageforming apparatus including a display device that displays informationand a printing device that prints an image on a recording medium, andwhen data printable by the printing device exists in a specificlocation, the home screen display program realizes a home screen displayunit that displays a home screen on the display device, and the homescreen display unit displays on the display device the home screenincluding a preview of an image based on the data that is printable bythe printing device and exists in the specific location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Multifunction Peripheral (MFP) accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams showing an example of a home screendisplayed on a display unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operation of the MFP when changing towhether the authentication function is valid or invalid;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation of the MFP shown in FIG. 1 when auser logs in;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a login screen displayed onthe display unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation of the MFP shown in FIG. 1 fordisplaying the home screen on the display unit when the authenticationfunction is valid and the user has logged in;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an operation of the MFP shown in FIG. 1 fordisplaying the home screen on the display unit when the authenticationfunction is not valid;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a variation of the operation shown in FIG. 6;and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a variation of the operation shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of a Multifunction Peripheral (MFP) as an imageforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosurewill be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the MFP 10 according to the presentembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the MFP 10 includes an operation unit 11 that is aninput device such as a button for inputting various operations, adisplay unit 12 that is a display device such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) for displaying various information, and a printer 13 thatis a printing device for printing images on a recording medium such aspaper. The MFP 10 further includes a scanner 14, which is a readingdevice that reads an image from a document, a facsimile communicationunit 15 which is a facsimile device that performs facsimilecommunication with an external facsimile device (not shown) via acommunication line such as a public telephone line, and a communicationunit 16, which is a communication device that communicates with anexternal device via a network such as a local area network (LAN) and anInternet, or directly via wired or wireless without intervening thenetwork. The MFP 10 further includes a connection interface 17 such asuniversal serial bus (USB) port to which an external storage medium suchas USB memory is connected, a storage unit 18 that is a non-volatilestorage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive (HDD)that stores various types of information, and a control unit 19 thatcontrols the entire MFP 10.

The MFP 10 has a function that associates data transmitted from anexternal computer such as a personal computer (PC) via a printer driverof the computer with the user, temporarily stores the associated data inthe storage unit 18, and prints an image based on the data by theprinter 13 in response to an instruction from the user via the operationunit 11 (hereinafter referred to as “private print”). The private printis a function that can prevent, for example, a printed material by theprinter 13 from being taken away by a third party.

When there is data printable by the printer 13, such as image data, inthe external storage medium connected to the connection interface 17,the MFP 10 can print by the printer 13 an image based on the data thatexists in the external storage medium connected to the connectioninterface 17 and can be printed by the printer 13. In addition, the MFP10 can store an image read from a document by the scanner 14 in theexternal storage medium connected to the connection interface 17.

The storage unit 18 stores an authentication information list 18 aincluding authentication information for authenticating the user foreach user. The authentication information is, for example, informationthat combines user identification information and user password.

The storage unit 18 stores an authority information list 18 b thatincludes authority information indicating the authority of the user foreach user. The authority includes, for example, a general userindicating that it is an ordinary user and an administrator indicatingthat it is an administrator of the MFP 10.

The storage unit 18 stores authentication function setting information18 c indicating whether the authentication function of the MFP 10 isvalid.

The storage unit 18 includes a document box 18 d, which is a storagearea for storing data of a specific user. In addition to the documentbox 18 d, the storage unit 18 includes document boxes each having thesame configuration as the document box 18 d for each user. The documentbox 18 d may store data printed by a private print (hereinafter referredto as “private print data”).

The storage unit 18 stores a home screen display program 18 e fordisplaying a home screen that is a basic screen for the operation of theMFP 10. The home screen display program 18 e may be installed in the MFP10 at the MFP 10 manufacturing stage, additionally installed in the MFP10 from an external storage medium such as USB memory, and additionallyinstalled in the MFP 10 from the network.

The control unit 19 includes, for example, a central processing unit(CPU), a read only memory (ROM) that stores programs and various data,and a random access memory (RAM) that is a memory used as a work areafor the CPU of the control unit 19. The CPU of the control unit 19executes programs stored in the storage unit 18 or the programs storedin the ROM of the control unit 19.

The control unit 19 executes the home screen display program 18 e torealize the home screen display unit 19 a that displays the home screen20 (see FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B) on the display unit 12.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams showing an example of a home screen 20displayed on the display unit 12.

The home screen 20 shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B includes an icon 21 forexecuting a specific process. In addition to the icon 21, the homescreen 20 includes icons each having the same configuration as the icon21 for each process. The home screen 20 includes a normal home screenthat does not include a preview of an image based on data printable bythe printer 13 (hereinafter referred to as a “normal home screen”), asshown in FIG. 2A, and a home screen including a preview 22 of an imagebased on data printable by the printer 13 (hereinafter referred to as“preview combination home screen”), as shown in FIG. 2B.

Next, the operation of the MFP 10 will be described.

First, the operation of the MFP 10 when changing to whether theauthentication function is valid or invalid is explained.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the MFP 10 operation when changing to whetherthe authentication function is valid or invalid.

When an instruction to change to whether the authentication function isvalid or invalid is input via the operation unit 11, the control unit 19performs the operation shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 19 displays a screen for requestinginput of user authentication information on the display unit 12 (S101).

Then, the control unit 19 determines whether the authenticationinformation is input via the operation unit 11 until the control unit 19determines that the authentication information has been input via theoperation unit 11 (S102).

When the control unit 19 determines in S102 that the authenticationinformation has been input via the operation unit 11, the control unit19 attempts to authenticate the user based on the authenticationinformation determined as “input” in S102 and the authenticationinformation included in the authentication information list 18 a (S103).

Then, the control unit 19 determines whether the authentication in S103is successful (S104).

When the control unit 19 determines in S104 that the authentication inS103 is successful, the control unit 19 determines whether the user isan administrator based on the identification information of the userauthenticated in S103 and the authority information list 18 b (S105).

When the control unit 19 determines in S105 that the user is theadministrator, the control unit 19 changes the information indicated inthe authentication function setting information 18 c (S106). That is,when the authentication function setting information 18 c indicates thatthe authentication function is valid, the control unit 19 changes theinformation indicated in the authentication function setting information18 c to information that the authentication function is not valid.Further, when the authentication function setting information 18 cindicates that the authentication function is not valid, the controlunit 19 changes the information indicated in the authentication functionsetting information 18 c to information that the authentication functionis valid.

After the process of S106, the control unit 19 displays on the displayunit 12 that the change to either the authentication function is validor invalid is successful (S107).

When the control unit 19 determines in S104 that the authentication inS103 is not successful or determines in S105 that the user is not theadministrator, the control unit 19 displays on the display unit 12 thatthe change to either the authentication function is valid or invalid isfailure (S108).

The control unit 19 ends the operation shown in FIG. 3 after theprocessing of S107 or S108.

Next, the operation of the MFP 10 when a user logs in will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the MFP 10 when the user logsin.

When the authentication function setting information 18 c indicates thatthe authentication function is valid, the control unit 19 performs theoperation shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 19 determines whether the user haslogged in until the control unit 19 determines that the user has notlogged in (S121).

When the control unit 19 determines in S121 that the user has not loggedin, the control unit 19 displays a login screen 30 (see FIG. 5) for auser to login in the display unit 12 (S122).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the login screen 30.

The login screen 30 shown in FIG. 5 includes a text box 31 for inputtinga user name as user identification information, a text box 32 forentering the user's password, and a button 33 where the logininstruction is input.

As shown in FIG. 4, after the process of S122, the control unit 19determines whether the button 33 has been pressed until the control unit19 determines that the button 33 has been pressed (S123).

When the control unit 19 determines in S123 that the button 33 has beenpressed, the control unit 19 attempts to authenticate the user based onthe identification information stored in the text box 31 at the timewhen the control unit 19 determines in S123 that the button 33 has beenpressed, the password stored in text box 32 at the time when the controlunit 19 determines in S123 that button 33 has been pressed, and theauthentication information in the authentication information list 18 a(S124).

Then, the control unit 19 determines whether the authentication in S124is successful (S125).

When the control unit 19 determines in S125 that the authentication inS124 is not successful, the control unit 19 displays the failure of thelogin on the display unit 12 (S126), and executes the process of S122.

When the control unit 19 determines in S125 that the authentication inS124 is successful, the control unit 19 displays the success of thelogin on the display unit 12 (S127), and executes the process in S121.

Next, the operation of the MFP 10 for displaying the home screen on thedisplay unit 12 when the authentication function is valid and the userhas already logged in will be explained.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation of the MFP 10 for displaying thehome screen on the display unit 12 when the authentication function isvalid and the user has logged in.

When the authentication function setting information 18 c indicates thatthe authentication function is valid and the user has logged in, thecontrol unit 19 performs the operation shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the home screen display unit 19 a displays thenormal home screen on the display unit 12 (S141).

Then, the home screen display unit 19 a determines whether an externalstorage medium is connected to the connection interface 17 (S142).

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S142 that anexternal storage medium is connected to the connection interface 17, thehome screen display unit 19 a determines whether there is data printableby the printer 13, such as image data, in the external storage mediumconnected to the connection interface 17 (S143).

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S143 that there isdata printable by the printer 13 on the external storage mediumconnected to the connection interface 17, the home screen display unit19 a displays on the display unit 12 the preview combination home screenincluding a preview of an image based on the data that exists in theexternal storage medium connected to the connection interface 17 and canbe printed by the printer 13 (S144). The home screen display unit 19 apreferentially adopts an icon for executing processing related toprinting such as processing for aggregate printing or double-sidedprinting by the printer 13 to the image based on the data that ispresent on the external storage medium connected to the connectioninterface 17 and can be printed by the printer 13, as an icon on thepreview combination home screen displayed in S144.

The home screen display unit 19 a executes the process of S142 after theprocess of S144.

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S143 that there isno data printable by the printer 13 on the external storage mediumconnected to the connection interface 17, the home screen display unit19 a executes the process of S141.

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S142 that noexternal storage medium is connected to the connection interface 17, thehome screen display unit 19 a determines whether a document is set inthe scanner 14 (S145).

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S145 that adocument is set in the scanner 14, the home screen display unit 19 adetermines whether an image has been read by the scanner 14 from thedocument set in the scanner 14 (S146). The control unit 19 may beconfigured to automatically read an image from the document set in thescanner 14 by the scanner 14 when the document is set in the scanner 14.Alternatively, the control unit 19 may be configured to read an imagefrom the document set on the scanner 14 by the scanner 14 in accordancewith an instruction via the operation unit 11.

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S146 that the imagehas been read by the scanner 14 from the document set in the scanner 14,the home screen display unit 19 a displays on the display unit 12 thepreview combination home screen including a preview of the image read bythe scanner 14 from the document set on the scanner 14 (S147). The homescreen display unit 19 a preferentially adopts an icon for executingprocessing related to image reading by the scanner 14, such as a copyprocess that prints the image read by the scanner 14 using the printer13, and a process that sends the image read by the scanner 14, as anicon in the preview combination home screen displayed in S147.

The home screen display unit 19 a executes the process of S142 after theprocess of S147.

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S146 that the imagehas not read by the scanner 14 from the document set in the scanner 14,the home screen display unit 19 a executes the process of S141.

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S145 that nodocument is set in the scanner 14, the home screen display unit 19 adetermines whether private print data exists in the document box of thelogged-in user (S148).

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S148 that privateprint data exists in the document box of the logged-in user, the homescreen display unit 19 a displays on the display unit 12 the previewcombination home screen including a preview of an image based on theprivate print data existing in the document box of the logged-in user(S149). The home screen display unit 19 a preferentially adopts an iconfor executing processing related to printing such as processing foraggregate printing or double-sided printing by the printer 13 to theimage based on the private print data existing in the document box ofthe logged-in user, as an icon on the preview combination home screendisplayed in S149.

The home screen display unit 19 a executes the process of S142 after theprocess of S149.

When the home screen display unit 19 a determines in S148 that there isno private print data in the document box of the logged-in user, thehome screen display unit 19 a executes the process of S141.

Next, the operation of the MFP 10 for displaying the home screen on thedisplay unit 12 when the authentication function is not valid will bedescribed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of the MFP 10 for displaying thehome screen on the display unit 12 when the authentication function isnot valid.

When the authentication function setting information 18 c indicates thatthe authentication function is not valid, the control unit 19 performsthe operation shown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, the home screen display unit 19 a executes theprocessing of S171 to S177 similar to the processing of S141 to S147. Onthe other hand, when the home screen display unit 19 a determines inS175 that no document is set in the scanner 14, the home screen displayunit 19 a executes the process in S171.

As explained above, when there is data printable by the printer 13 at aspecific location (YES at S143, YES at S148, or YES at S173), the MFP 10displays the preview combination home screen including the preview ofthe image based on the data on the display unit 12 (S144, S149 or S174).Therefore, the MFP 10 can improve the usability of the home screen whenprintable data exists at a specific location.

When a user of the MFP 10 connects an external storage medium thatstores data printable by the printer 13 to the connection interface 17,there is a high possibility that the purpose of the user to use the MFP10 is to print the data printable by printer 13 that exists in theexternal storage medium connected to the connection interface 17. Whenthere is data printable by the printer 13 on the external storage mediumconnected to the connection interface 17 (YES in S143 or YES in S173),the MFP 10 displays the preview combination home screen including thepreview of the image based on the data on the display unit 12 (S144 orS174). Therefore, the MFP 10 can improve the usability of the homescreen when there is data printable by the printer 13 on the externalstorage medium connected to the connection interface 17.

When there is private print data in the document box of the user of theMFP 10, there is a high possibility that the purpose of the user to usethe MFP 10 is to print the private print data. When there is dataprintable by the printer 13 in the document box for each user (YES inS148), the MFP 10 displays the preview combination home screen includingthe preview of the image based on the data on the display unit 12(S149). Therefore, the MFP 10 can improve the usability of the homescreen when data printable by the printer 13 exists in the document boxfor each user.

When an external storage medium is connected to the connection interface17 (YES in S142), and there is no data printable by the printer 13 inthe external storage medium connected to the connection interface 17 (NOin S143), even if data printable by the printer 13 exists in thedocument box for each user, the MFP 10 displays on the display unit 12the normal home screen that does not include the preview of the imagepreview based on the data (S141). Therefore, the MFP 10 can relativelyimprove the usability regarding the execution of the function using theexternal storage medium connected to the connection interface 17, by theamount to suppress the display related to the printing function by theprinter 13 based on the data existing in the document box for each user.

When a document is set in the scanner 14 (YES in S145), and no image isread by the scanner 14 from the document set in the scanner 14 (NO inS146), even if there is data printable by the printer 13 in the documentbox for each user, the MFP 10 displays on the display unit 12 the normalhome screen that does not include the preview of the image based on thedata (S141). Therefore, the MFP 10 can relatively improve the usabilityregarding the execution of the function using the image read by thescanner 14 from the document, by the amount to suppress the displayrelated to the printing function by the printer 13 based on the dataexisting in the document box for each user.

In the operation shown in FIG. 6, in displaying the home screen on thedisplay unit 12 in the case where the authentication function is validand the user has logged in, the MFP 10 has priority over that theexternal storage medium is connected to the connection interface 17 overthat the document is set in the scanner 14. However, as shown in FIG. 8,in displaying the home screen on the display unit 12 in the case wherethe authentication function is valid and the user has logged in, the MFP10 may prioritize that the document is set on the scanner 14, over thatthe external storage medium is connected to the connection interface 17.

In the operation shown in FIG. 7, when the authentication function isnot valid, the MFP 10 has priority over that the external storage mediumis connected to the connection interface 17 over that the document isset in the scanner 14. However, as shown in FIG. 9, when theauthentication function is not valid, the MFP 10 may prioritize that thedocument is set on the scanner 14 over that the external storage mediumis connected to the connection interface 17.

In the embodiment, the MFP 10 stores the authentication information list18 a. However, the MFP 10 may use the authentication information listmanaged by an external computer. Further, the MFP 10 may request anexternal computer for the processing of user authentication.

In the embodiment, the MFP 10 stores the authority information list 18b. However, the MFP 10 may use an authority information list managed byan external computer. Further, the MFP 10 may request an externalcomputer for the processing to confirm the user's authority.

The MFP 10 includes the document box in the embodiment. However, thedocument box may be provided in a computer outside the MFP 10.

The image forming apparatus of the present disclosure is the MFP in thepresent embodiment, but may be an image forming apparatus other than theMFP, such as a printer dedicated machine.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a displaydevice that displays information; a printing device that prints an imageon a recording medium; and a home screen display unit that displays ahome screen on the display device, wherein when data printable by theprinting device exists in a specific location, the home screen displayunit displays on the display device the home screen comprising a previewof an image based on the data that is printable by the printing deviceand exists in the specific location, wherein the image forming apparatusfurther comprises a connection interface to which an external storagemedium is connected, and the specific location comprises the externalstorage medium connected to the connection interface, and wherein thespecific location further comprises a storage area that stores data, foreach user, and when the external storage medium is connected to theconnection interface, even if data printable by the printing deviceexists in the storage area, the home screen display unit displays on thedisplay device the home screen which does not comprise a preview of animage based on the data that is printable by the printing device andexists in the storage area.
 2. The image forming apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises a readingdevice that reads an image from a document, wherein when an image isread from the document by the reading device, the home screen displayunit displays on the display device the home screen comprising a previewof the image read from the document by the reading device, and whereinwhen the document is set in the reading device, even if data printableby the printing device exists in the storage area, the home screendisplay unit displays on the display device the home screen that doesnot comprise a preview of an image preview based on the data that isprintable by the printing device and exists in the storage area.
 3. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores a homescreen display program executed by an image forming apparatus comprisinga display device that displays information and a printing device thatprints an image on a recording medium, wherein the home screen displayprogram realizes a home screen display unit that displays a home screenon the display device, and wherein when data printable by the printingdevice exists in a specific location, the home screen display unitdisplays on the display device the home screen comprising a preview ofan image based on the data that is printable by the printing device andexists in the specific location, wherein the image forming apparatusfurther comprises a connection interface to which an external storagemedium is connected, and the specific location comprises the externalstorage medium connected to the connection interface, and wherein thespecific location further comprises a storage area that stores data, foreach user, and when the external storage medium is connected to theconnection interface, even if data printable by the printing deviceexists in the storage area, the home screen display unit displays on thedisplay device the home screen which does not comprise a preview of animage based on the data that is printable by the printing device andexists in the storage area.
 4. An image forming apparatus, comprising: adisplay device that displays information; a printing device that printsan image on a recording medium; and a home screen display unit thatdisplays a home screen on the display device, wherein when dataprintable by the printing device exists in a specific location, the homescreen display unit displays on the display device the home screencomprising a preview of an image based on the data that is printable bythe printing device and exists in the specific location, wherein thespecific location comprises a storage area that stores data, for eachuser, wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises a readingdevice that reads an image from a document, wherein when an image isread from the document by the reading device, the home screen displayunit displays on the display device the home screen comprising a previewof the image read from the document by the reading device, and whereinwhen the document is set in the reading device, even if data printableby the printing device exists in the storage area, the home screendisplay unit displays on the display device the home screen that doesnot comprise a preview of an image preview based on data that isprintable by the printing device and exists in the storage area.